Grapefruit

You can use the same technique to make candied lemon or orange peel. The technique for candied grapefruit peel is slightly different (as detailed below) because more pith—the bitter white layer between the outer peel and the flesh of citrus fruit—must be removed.

Cut the avocados just before serving to keep them from discoloring.

The Grapefruit Gimlet (see photo) came as an inspiration upon tasting Charbay ruby red grapefruit vodka. Unlike other flavored vodkas, this producer actually uses real fruit in a natural process of infusion. Charbay pays Texas ruby red grapefruit growers premium prices to leave the fruit on the tree until they are overripe. Then they are shipped to California, where father-and-son distillers Miles and Marko Karakasevic grind the whole fruits—skins, pulp, and juice—then let them sit in alcohol for six months to extract the real fruit flavor. This essence is then strained and added to clear vodka. The result of this infusion is unlike any other flavored vodka. The beauty of our Grapefruit Gimlet is that it consists of only three ingredients: Charbay grapefruit vodka, fresh lime juice, and agave nectar. This recipe is very simple to make and really accentuates the grapefruit vodka. Make it and taste it and you’ll feel like you’ve just bitten into a sweet, ripe ruby red grapefruit through the skin. It’s refreshing and full flavored, and it begs for another sip.

The ginger syrup for the grapefruit intensifies the citrus flavor while adding a bright yet subtle heat that cuts through the richness of the cakes and avocado.

We love to serve a variety of shapes and sizes of tartlet shells filled with different flavors of fruit curd; feel free to mix and match flavors to your liking. Similarly, you may choose to top some with meringue while leaving others unadorned. The ones pictured at right are filled with Lemon and Passion Fruit curds. Grapefruit Curd and Lime Curd work equally well. These tartlets are especially appropriate for garden parties or bridal showers.

You can bake the cookies and make the filling a day ahead.

This salad is all about contrasts. The grapefruit adds a slightly tart punch to the creamy avocado, and the herbs add flavor and texture. This salad comes together in a flash because there’s no separate dressing—just a squeeze of lemon and a splash of olive oil.

WHY IT’S LIGHT This dish only sounds indulgent. It stays trim by combining a modest piece of bacon-wrapped fish with a generous salad. Thick fillets of any firm, flaky, and mild fish, such as halibut, haddock, or striped bass, would work well here.

This is a delicious way to use the peels of citrus after they’ve been juiced. Candied peel, either plain or dipped in chocolate, makes a zesty ending for a meal. Candy only unsprayed, organic citrus fruit.

Spiny lobster is abundant in the state of Baja and also happens to be one of my dad’s favorite foods. He would often come home with plenty for my mom and me to prepare, and on hot days this refreshing salad was a must. The mango brings out the lobster’s natural sweetness, and the bright lime juice makes this a perfect summer dish.

Brunch is a funny meal; many of the main dishes are sweet enough to make dessert seem almost redundant. That’s why I like to serve this dish, which is bright and fresh from the citrus with a hint of licorice from the fennel. It bridges the gap between salad and dessert, ending the meal on a sweet but not heavy note.

This is a nearly traditional salad in which the grapefruit plays a leading role, complementing mild shrimp and allowing you to make an almost ridiculously easy dressing, made up of nothing more than fish sauce (called nam pla in Thailand and nuoc mam in Vietnam), or soy, lime, a bit of sugar, and some water. Use good shrimp—Pacific or Gulf whites are the best, though the less expensive and widely available tiger shrimp are acceptable—and buy them big, because you’ll have fewer to peel.

One of the great things about living in Louisiana is the plethora of sunny citrus fruits available during winter. When my grapefruit tree started producing more than I could use at home, I developed this recipe to serve at Bayona. Fresh basil is commonly partnered with lemon or orange, but I love how the faint anise flavor of the herb plays off the bright, tart-sweet punch of grapefruit (and since it rarely freezes in New Orleans, we can typically grow basil all year round as well). Citrus and fish is such a great match—this sauce is delicious with pompano, amberjack, or just about any fish.

Shrimp and citrus make such a natural match, I often combine them in tacos, but they call out for something with a little heft, such as black beans. Depending on the size grapefruit you use, you’ll probably have more than you need for this recipe, but that’s not a problem. Just eat the remaining sections for breakfast with a little yogurt, for dessert instead of the oranges in the Yogurt Parfait with Mulled Red Wine Syrup (page 161), or in a smoothie with banana and milk. I like to sometimes double up the salsa on this taco, drizzling on a little Salsa Verde (page 14) in addition to the on-the-fly grapefruit–black bean salsa, but these tacos are plenty flavorful without it.

Pickled onions are the magic fix-it condiment in my refrigerator. You could serve me the worst dish ever, and if it had a few pickled onions on top, I’d probably say, “Hmm. Not bad.” Of course, that means that they can also take something that’s already delicious and make it spectacular. They’re a traditional partner with pibils, the banana leaf–wrapped, pit-cooked meats of the Yucatan. I particularly like them on tacos (see Cochinita Pibil Tacos with Habanero Salsa, page 95, and Tacos de Huevos, page 87), where they give an extra crunch and hit of acidity. I’ve made them all sorts of ways over the years—combining the onions with lime juice, salt, and cumin; blanching the onions first, then tossing in vinegar and Tabasco—but it wasn’t until my delightful friend Patricia Jinich turned me on to her method that I made it mine, too. Pati, who blogs at patismexicantable. com, experimented endlessly (well, sixteen batches) to find the right combination that would substitute for Yucatecan bitter orange juice before she settled on this one. It was worth it, but if you can find bitter orange (labeled naranja agria in Latin stores), use it instead of the juice/vinegar combination here.

The venerable Greyhound is made with vodka or gin and grapefruit juice, and if you salt that hound, you get a Salty Dog. So goes the logic. But logic is dull—or lonely. Vodka craves company. Its pure grain simplicity is receptive to a host of improvements that would wither under gin’s herbaceous glare. And who doesn’t love a peach, with all that it conjures—from climbing fruit trees to sipping Bellinis? And with the right salt—like a springwater fresh Bolivian Rose salt—the vodka and peach open up with a smiling opulence that quells the furor of even the surliest god.

Passion fruit puree can be found in Latin grocery stores and online at amazon.com.